F. Scott Fitzgerald
Lesson plans for The Great Gatsby and other works

|Biography and Historical Background| |The Great Gatsby| |Other stories|

Biography, Historical Background, and the American Dream

The American Dream
This unit plan uses The Great Gatsby and several other works to explore the contrast between the American Dream and the American reality.

The American Dream at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
Students use a variety of songs to explore the concept of The American Dream. Music, lyrics, not available onsite.

American Dreams: A Virtual Museum WebQuest
Students research different versions of the American dream in the 20th century, then prepare a museum exhibit.

American Writers: The Great Gatsby
Note the links to the right: Featured writer, Featured place, classroom resources. This site accompanies the C-SPAN American Writers series and includes online video clips.

Murder and Mayhem — The Great Gatsby: Facts Behind the Fiction
In this project students create 1920s-style newspapers by using primary source materials from several American Memory collections.

The Roaring Twenties
This simulation from the McCord Museum of Canadian History in Montreal, Quebec, invites students to choose a role (male or female) and learn the ins and outs of the Twenties. Headsets recommended.

USC: F.Scott Fitzgerald Centenary Home Page
Biography, timeline, essays, and bibliography.

The Great Gatsby

A Gift of Gatsby
In this lesson, students learn about the appeal of The Great Gatsby in the contemporary American high school English curriculum. They take a reading comprehension quiz based on the New York Times article they have read, discuss several key "Gatsby" themes today's students find relevant, and then write reflective pieces for homework. Lesson plan includes New York Times article.

The Great Gatsby
Text of the novel.

The Great Gatsby
Historical background, author biography, related works, discussion questions, related resources, and a thorough teacher's guide. These materials were prepared as part of the NEA Big Read.

The Great Gatsby
Vocabulary, focus questions, additional links, classroom activities.

The Great Gatsby Setting Map
After reading about half of the novel, students design a map of the setting. This site includes a checklist for assessment.

The Great Gatsby Wordles
Tag clouds for each chapter of the novel.

An Index to The Great Gatsby
An extensive index of the novel.

Multigenre Prompts
The six multigenre prompts on this handout relate to The American Dream and Gatsby. MS-Word or compatible application required for access.

My American Dream: Multigenre Paper
This handout states requirements for an assignment. Requires MS-Word or compatible application for access.

The "Secret Society" and FitzGerald's The Great Gatsby
Students analyze the novel "for a consideration of class, wealth, and status during the turbulent 1920's" and consider its relevance to their own lives.

The Voice of Dreams
"Students will explore the idea of the 'American dream' in the past and present, and through real and fictional human stories. They will consider what the American dream is, if anyone still believes in it, if it is still achievable, and what drives people to pursue it." Site includes handouts, links to video clips, and other related links.

Vocabulary words from The Great Gatsby
A list of 31 words, presented both as they appear in the novel and in alphabetical order.

Writing About Literature
This page offers several suggestions for writing about literature in general; scroll down a little to find 9 daily journal prompts related to The Great Gatsby.

Other Stories

F. Scott Fitzgerald
Links to texts of most novels and stories. Download or read them online.

F.Scott Fitzgerald, "Babylon Revisited"
Thirteen questions for writing and/or discussion. This document requires MS-Word for access.

F. Scott Fitzgerald: "Winter Dreams"
In this lesson plan designed for grades 6-8, students study the biography and work of F. Scott Fitzgerald. They learn how the author used autobiographical elements in writing his stories, and they try a hand at writing a Fitzgerald-style story with autobiographical elements of their own.

"Winter Dreams"
Text and questions for analysis. Handouts require Adobe Reader or compatible application for access.

Vocabulary from "Winter Dreams"
A list of 28 words, presented as they occur in the story.